Snowfall

Summary: Emma Stone's family is falling apart, but when her cousin helps her rediscover magic and she meets Jack Frost, life feels livable again. They're drawn together, even as Pitch tries to tear them apart.

Chapter 1

These are
the words Emma Stone’s mother used to say.
Or still does, she supposes.
Meaning, she would if she could.
But she can’t. The cancer makes
her too weak to talk much. They’ve gone
to many doctors, trying a bunch of different treatments, but, in the end, they
all say the same thing: three months at
best. That’s it. They’re not taking it very well, Emma and her
father. Especially her father. That’s why, when her mom still had some
strength left, her mom convinced her dad to move them to Burgess, so they could
be with family. Emma’s dad has no family
to speak of; he was in and out of foster care until he turned legal age, and
her mom’s parents passed away when Emma was really little, so it’s her mother’s
sister’s house that they’re at now. Aunt
Marcy, with a ten-year-old son named Jamie and a little four-year-old daughter named
Sophie, already a handful to take care of by herself. Still, she kindly took them in.

Emma lugs
her suitcase onto Jamie’s/her bed with a sigh, causing the bedsprings to creak
with the sudden weight. She feels bad
about Aunt Marcy giving her Jamie’s room, he isn’t too thrilled with having to
share a room with his sister, either, but she appreciates the sacrifice. Sure, it still has his outer space bedspread,
dozens of colorful crayon drawings are hanging on the walls, and the floor is
littered with some of his toys, not exactly her kind of decorating, but it’s
her own place to sit and think. Emma
figures she’s probably going to need the space in the weeks to come.

Emma starts
to mechanically unpack her clothes, placing them in the dresser drawers that
have already been emptied for her use, trying not to think about how her dad is helping her mom get situated in
one of the twin beds in the guest room downstairs. They had to transport her in an ambulance
since she can’t walk or even sit up and is permanently attached to a machine
that helps her breathe. A kind nurse
from the hospital she was being treated at back home came along with them to
help get everything set up for her.
Emma’s dad probably could have handled it himself, but since the
diagnosis he’s been drinking. It hasn’t
gotten bad. Yet. He’s been more sober than drunk; that usually
waits until late at night. But it’s bad
enough to where Emma is worried. Emma’s
just glad her mom is asleep most of the time now, both so that she can escape
the pain in the land of dreams and so that she doesn’t see the state her
husband is in.

About an
hour later Emma finishes unpacking the rest of her things and contemplates on
what to do next. Winter break just
started so she has no homework to do.
She could work on some drawings, Jamie’s room has a good view of the
street and she can see a little park a couple of blocks away, but her heart
just isn’t in it today. Her eyes then
fall onto the stack of books on her desk.
She runs her hand along the titles on the spines lovingly, wishing she
could have brought more. There are ten
of them, mostly fantasy, nowhere near even a fifth, or even a tenth, of her
entire book collection, but her dad told her she had to be conservative while
packing.

When Emma’s
hand strokes the soft leather book on top she sighs, shoulders slumping
slightly. It’s a collection of fairy
tales and other myths her mother gave her when she was little. Emma picks up the book and goes to sit on the
bed, flipping through worn pages of stories she now knows by heart. There are the classics, like Cinderella and
Red Riding Hood, and then there are the childhood myths, like Santa Clause and
the Easter Bunny.

Emma pauses
on her favorite story, delicately caressing with a slender finger the name Jack
Frost. She has always loved winter, but
has never seen snow. Often as a child
she would wish for Jack Frost to visit her in Florida, but as the years went by
she knew that her wishes were falling on ears that do not exist.

Setting the
book aside, Emma goes over to the window and opens it, the hinges squeaking
slightly. A frigid breeze fills the room
and her lungs, causing her long brown hair to fly gently around her head. Emma doesn’t have a jacket on to protect her
from the cold, but she doesn’t care. She
has always found the cold invigorating.
Some people look out onto the small town of Burgess and see the dead,
leafless trees, the dull houses barged against the icy claws of the air, and a
cloudy gray sky, but Emma sees life in everything, life that is being bundled
up in a cocoon for the winter, waiting for spring to come when it can spread
it’s monarch wings and fly. It is an
anticipation that becomes sweater with each passing day. Each day of winter, that life stirs with the
joy and fun people have while being together for the holidays, especially the
children. Already Emma can hear the
distant squeals of children laughing in the park as they play.

Emma looks
up at the sky again, watching as it grows darker with the setting sun. It is plenty cold enough for snow, she
thinks, but the clouds refuse to give up their load. A familiar prayer comes to her lips, one not
spoken in years. She bites her bottom
lip, hesitating, but then lets the words come forth in a whisper, “Please, Jack
Frost, let it snow. I could really use a
little magic right now.”

Jack

While Jack
Frost floats through the air, debating on if it is too early in the winter
season to give the children of Burgess some snow, he notices the open window of
Jamie’s room. Deciding to pay his first
believer a visit he flies over, but stops when he sees a stranger standing
inside instead of the boy, staring out into the encroaching night. She’s about seventeen, if Jack had to guess,
around the age he was when he died and has been for the past three hundred
years. Too old to be a believer,
unfortunately, but it means he can get closer for a better look without
freaking her out.

“So,
stranger,” Jack says aloud even though he knows she can’t hear him. “What are you doing in my friend’s room?”

Jack floats
about a foot in front of the girl and studies her. Her long brown hair dances in the breeze,
reminding Jack of autumn leaves. She is
short for most girls her age, only coming up to his shoulder if Jack were to
actually stand on the floor next to her.
She has a small frame, but by the way she carries herself and the fire
in her green eyes Jack can tell she is tougher than she looks. There is also something else in her eyes that
Jack notices. Something hidden, buried
deep down so no one sees it. Except now
she is alone, or so she thinks, and is letting her guard down, if only just a
little. Jack peers closer, their noses
only inches away from touching. He can
see a loneliness and sadness raging inside her.
It reminds Jack of how he used to be before he started to be believed in
and seen, before he became a Guardian, before he had a family. And yet it is a sadness far worse than no one
even knowing you exist.

The girl’s
brow furrows and she bites her lip, fighting some conflict within herself. And then she speaks, barely a whisper,
“Please, Jack Frost, let it snow. I
could really use a little magic right now.”

Jack jumps
back away from her a few feet, eyes wide.
“Do you see me?” he asks. When
she doesn’t answer he sighs. “I’ll take
that as a no. But you do know my
name. Has Jamie told you about me?”

Jack flies
into the room, careful not to touch her.
He knows he’ll only pass right through her, but it is an unnerving
feeling that Jack tries to avoid.
Looking around, he notices a few things that were not in Jamie’s room
the last time he was there, a suit case, a stack of books, a laptop, a family
photo of the strange girl and people Jack can only guess to be her parents,
smiling at the beach. A book opened on
Jamie’s bed catches his eye and he floats over to it. “Ah,” Jack says as he looks at his own name
staring back at him on the page. “So
that’s where you know me from.”

Jack ponders
for a moment how all of the spirits, like him, who are not well known, have
made it into storybooks. He suspects it
might me Man in the Moon’s doing, lying a bit of groundwork so that they don’t
have to start entirely from scratch getting people to believe in them, but Jack
never bothered to ask the other Guardians.

“Please,
Jack Frost,” the girl says again. Jack
turns back to face her. Her sorrowful
eyes are still gazing at the sky, hoping beyond hope.

“I don’t
think I could say no even if I tried.”
Jack slips back out of the room and into the cloudy sky. With a flick of his wrist his Sheppard’s hook
begins to glow a soft blue, feeding ice into the clouds, and a gentle blanket
of white begins to fall.

Alex Rushmer:
This was not what I expected, but I enjoyed it a lot Malfoy was always one of the characters that I liked a lot, so I like that a lot of this happens between him and Colette. I read the first couple chapters, and I enjoyed your writing style and am excited to see where you take this story. My com...

rihannabkj2:
Great story,I can hardly stop reading this novel. it shows that compassion and love can still exist after so many years between two persons. I most say well done to the Author who wrote this book. Others should read this book inorder to know that there can still be LOVE among two persons no matt...

263Adder:
Okay so I adore this story. I only knocked one star off plot for historical inaccuracies because I'm a bit of a stickler for that. The ending broke my heart though, considering you already changed history couldn't you (SPOILER) change it a bit more and have them together!!!! I want an alternative...

emmaneal74:
I loved this booked. Would definitely buy it when published and read it again. The story flowed in such a way I just couldn't put it down. I was never confused about the characters or their roles in the story which can happen sometimes with so many lead. I'd recommend this to anyone wanting to r...

izzymerchant:
This book is truly special. The plot, the characters and the way the story flows is so engrossing and magical that I found it virtually impossible to put down. The character relationships were particularly fascinating and Melenthia's character was fascinating. Cannot wait to see what happens next!

Flik:
Hi! ^.^ huge fan of yours on ff.net! When I saw the note about this contest on The Way We Smile, I couldn't help but rush over here, create an account, and vote! XD Seriously love this story and would recommend it to anyone! :D best FT fanfiction out there. Amazing story, amazing concept that wa...

SandraHan1:
This story is very descriptive, with vivid scenes from the very beginning, which made for a good scene setting. I love the symbolism in names, such as “Naysayers”, “Hadd”, etc . The story itself is revolutionary, intriguing, emotional and exciting. I was very pleased to see that there is a happy ...

Felisa Yoder Osburn:
I really enjoyed the story. Civil War stories are some of my favorites and the intertwining of the past with current times was wonderful. I look forward to reading the next stories.

genlynne2379:
I read the other review of this book and I must say that I disagree with it wholeheartedly. I do not believe the author put the apostrophes in the names just to be unique, but because the characters are supposedly of a different race than humans. They are Anmah. They should have different names a...

Alani Foreigner:
I absolutely loved how you created this story. It isn't like the other cliché stories I've ever read. I had just started reading it yesterday and just had to finish it. The main characters are grotesquely awesome and I fell in love with them. If you're into fantasy and stuff I can guarantee that ...

zoheusher20:
What more can I say? The writing style and little details drew me into the book and for the entirety of the story I was Juliet. I felt her turmoil and emotions and every trouble or triumph as they arrived. This story was very different and had quite a few little but unexpected twists that made it...

Stephen Warner:
To start off, I am thoroughly impressed. The writing style is somewhat unique, and the plot seemed to move at a nice and steady pace. However, I was not expecting this to be a vampire book! I am usually not one for novels about vampires, but I was pleasantly surprised! You wrote with such grace a...

Ruby0h:
Overall I thought your story was really good! It drew me in right away and kept me interested as the story progressed. I loved the character of Kayla being inserted into this story, and the way she affected and shaped the life of the original story into something totally new and interesting. I lo...

littlebunnypoopoos:
Omg this was so amazing! The ending was a little bad and predictable. But otherwise, I need a second book or I'll die :DThe character development was excellent and the whole romance, action, and suspense was superb

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